Captain On Duty
by Softrock-showtunesgirlscout22
Summary: Mal is left caring for Serenity's youngest crew all by himself . Just a fluffly one shot


**Serenity's got a new kind of crew and Mal is left caring for them all by himself . Just a fluffly one shot**

 **Not so good as to writing Firefly. Been binge watching the show again for the fist time since I was 11 and well... it's been real ages of withdrawal. Hope you like it.**

 **I own nothing**

Caring for Emma since she had been born had been a thing the girls mostly did. Simon did too, even though he felt too tense being around babies for long periods of time. A doctor who was scared of babies? kwong-juh duh

"Do we really have to get ready for bed Uncle Mal?" Emma said. She was closing on her teenage years now. Not so much a little girl and yet not too grown up.

"Yes you do. I am the one in charge, ain't I?" Mal said. He couldn't really compete with that kid. He'd loved Wash and Zoe was still the person other than the mother of his children to keep him sane. She'd done that for him since the war.

"Five more minutes?" Emma kept on insisting. "Please?"

"You stay there for five minutes while I come back,... five minutes Emma... dong ma?"

"Yes, Captain. Sir."

Mal crossed the hallways of Serenity, Emma left on her own for five minutes was a safe bet. Now his children were another story.

"Dad!" Steele was his little fireball. At six he could barely stay still. Huh.

Just like his mother. "Dad, can't sleep. It ain't passed my bed time yet is it?"

"Yes it is." Mal could run a tight ship. Even keep Jayne under control. Most of the time.

"No it ain't mama, always read us a story before bed." Oh Mal knew that. He was just playing mind games with him. So sneaky and smart. So much like his old man.

"Well, I ain't gonna read you another one." Mal said a little bit frustrated. He didn't think Serenity's youngest crew would end up being his own kids. "Already did one nyen ching-duh"

"Please daddy" He was pouting now. Oh no. He couldn't handle the pout. "Just one?"

"You better do it or he'll never settle in." A voice said from behind Mal. His 9 year old daughter smiled at him. "Haven't you met him? He's quite the pushy one."

"Wonder who he takes after huh?" Mal smiled. He settled on Steele's bed As Katie took her own bunk in the room. "Fine."

Mal began to tell the story of how he and Zoe first found Serenity and how she never thought she'd be more than a piece of junk. Katie laughed. And then sighed.

"But she did meet Uncle Wash thanks to Serenity."

"A lot of things have happen because of Serenity0." Mal said solemnly. "Good and bad" Steele's eyes began to close slowly. "But that's what makes her such a good ship."

"Cause it's all about love." Katie said with a toothy grin.

"It is. Just like flyin'." Mal moved from one bed to the other. "How you'd get so smart."

"You just weren't looking close enough." Katie said.

"Do me a favor, "bao-bei" Mal smiled as he kissed the little girl's forehead. "Keep me posted on just how much you do once in a while. I might blink and It'll all disapear."

"Don't worry too much daddy." Katie said. "Still gonna have my brain stuck on engines for a long time."

"You remember that Katie Kay." Mal smirked as she settled in bed. "Remember it in a few years."

"Daddy?"

"Yeah "bao-bei?"

"Not gonna let me get off the ship till I'm all grown , are you?" She bit her lip adorably.

"Don't know yet." Mal smirked. "Guess I'm just a mean old man, huh?" She tucked her in. "Good night"

Mal left for his quarters, not before cracking an eye on Emma. She was sound asleep. Light was still on. He made sure she was securely tucked in bed before he headed on the other direction.

The dim light on the room made it easy to see and yet he couldn't appreciate his surroundings as he wanted to. He took a few steps. Slowly. Quietly and then suddenly hot one of Steele's squeaky toy soldiers. "kao " He muttered under his breath.

One

Two

Three

A loud cry filled his ears.

"No, please don't wake up." He moved slowly where a small crib rested, close to the bigger bunk in the room. "Please don't wake up."

Too late.

This one had not been planned. Neither had the others if he was completely honest.

Oh well he was going to that special kind of hell anyway. So he'd had to be excused because he'd brought three pretty adorable little people into the world. Him have done the fun part.

Now Serenity's youngest crew members included Zoe and Wash's inquisitive and smart preteen. His wise beyond her years and way more mature than him of a daughter.

His fireball of a son and a newborn baby.

A completely dependent on him because his mother wasn't on board. He reached out to pick up the baby. Blue eyes met his as he tried to quiet him down. "Shh..." He held on to the small infant as he placed him close to his chest.

"Best not waking up on me son, mama might kill me if she knew I'd barely being able to put the other two to bed." Mal admitted. He was a hands on dad. He tried at least to be as dedicated as he could to Emma and his children alike."Please."

The baby coed at him, grabbing his finger. He might be hungry. He moved with the baby in his arms and opened a small fridge on on a small floor door. "Good thing daddy used to hide things from crazy Jayne. We couldn't have him accidently drink more breast milk." Mal shivered at the thought of how little disgusted Jayne had been over having tasted breast milk.

"We've all tried it once, that's all I gotta say." Mal actually gagged. "Real tasty this one."

"Wanna keep talking?" Mal spat. "I'll just leave you stranded on the next planet."

Jayne kept his mouth about his woman's breast milk.

"Good ain't it?" Mal paced around the small room feeding the little baby in his arms.

"Well ain't that a welcome sight for sore eyes Cap'n" A voice said behind him.

Kaylee. "You're so good with him."

"He's the only one who likes me." Mal admitted. "Just wait till he can talk."

"Still got a far long time for that." She said as she stood behind him. placing a hand on his shoulder as she watched him feed their baby boy. "Finn is a daddy's boy for sure. All of them adore you. Even Emma. You good of a father figure for her."

"I ain't." Mal said sitting on the bed, Kaylee joining him shortly. "She needs her real dad and she can't have him cause he's dead."

"Cap'n."

"Don't start Kaylee." Mal said. "We all know that if it weren't for me..."

"Stop it right there Malcolm Reynolds and listen to me." Kaylee looked deep into his blue eyes. "You ain't nothing to apologize for."

"oh gorramit,Kaylee."

"Daddy just said a bad word," They hadn't heard the other children coming down to their room. He saw Steele covering his mouth as he stared at Kaylee.

"Yep. He did." Kaylee tried to keep calm as his children joined in.

"I thought I'd left you sleeping." Mal said severely. Kaylee offered her arms to her middle child

"Yeah, but we just... we heard mama was back on the ship and..." Katie babbled. There was nothing worse than her daddy being mad. His mama said she'd blame it on the war and all he'd been trough when he and Zoe fought in the big war. "Wanted to say goodnight."

"Of course it's alright, daddy is just being a bit cranky, that all." Kaylee smiled. "He might need a kiss from his most special little girl to cheer him up." Her daugther smiled.

"Daddy?" Katie wasn't usually scared of her daddy, in fact she worshiped him. She'd said she'd be the one in charge of Serenity one day.

"There's nothing a kiss from my Katie Kay can't fix." Mal pointed to his cheek and his little one planted one sweet kiss on it, "See? Feel much better now." She smiled-

That Kaylee smile he loved so much and that made everything right in his world again. "But you know better than to be out of your bed at this time at night, 'Verse is sleeping and you should too."

"Kay mama." Steele smirked. A mini Mal all to himself. "Good night again," Kaylee smiled at the cuteness of her mini Cap'n.

"See? There's good in the world. and Wash knew that all too well." She kissed his cheek. "He wouldn't want you to be carrying all that around, ain't good for you and nobody else." Mal relaxed a bit. "Give him here, I'm guessing he could sleep trough a war this one." Kaylee took the baby from him. "There baby Finn, you all set. Sweet dreams." She wrapped the baby real good. "Reckon he'll sleep all night. What's wrong?"

"You even know how we ended up with three of these?" Mal asked.

"Might have something to do with us..." The baby stirred inside his small bassinett.

"Wanna say something little Kaylee?" Mal kissed her nose softly.

"Nah, wanna save it for later, right now, I just want to sleep." She began to get undressed and grabbed one of her usual night wears.. One of Mal's old shirts. "Being a girl is a little exhaustin."

"Take it you had a good time out?"

"Yep, but was missing my Captain too much. And my babies too."

"We missed you too." He admitted as he cuddled with her in bed. "Don't even know how you do it, thank you for giving me a reason to wake up every mornin'."

"Oh no Captain, thank you for giving 3 very good reasons. I love you."

* * *

 **This is so wrong. I'm going to a special kind of hell, I just know it but those two are way too adorable. Translations:**

 ** _kwong-juh duh : Crazy_**

 **bao-bei: Sweetheart**

 **kao: crap**


End file.
